Witchfire
by Luxio Nyx
Summary: Media never knew she was a witch. Now that she knows, does she have to give her soulmate up too? Add an angry dragon to the mix and you've got a Night World story.
1. Invisible

Chapter 1

I looked through the dull and spit encrusted glass of the window, watching the crowd. The teacher's rambling words passed easily through my ears. I didn't worry, I would remember every thing he said later. It was a gift of mine. I tried to ignore my reflection as I focused on the handsome, dark haired figure in the middle of the crowd, I already knew what I would see.

Amaranth looked up just then, straight at me. My breath caught, startled as always by the very sight of him. His piercing dark eyes, coupled with his hair, so dark it was almost purple, should have made him seem scary and menacing, but it did just the opposite. All of the girls thought of him as a mysterious and heroic stranger, while the boys acknowledged him as one of them, tough and strong and not afraid to throw his weight around when he needed to.

Amaranth's eyes cut through me, looking past me as if I was invisible, as I knew he would. No one that unbelievably gorgeous would waste a second on me.

I already knew I was ugly, there was no doubt in my mind. The reflection in the window sneered back at me, almost mocking my shame. My hair was neither straight nor curly, just a hideous, indefinable mess that was somewhere in between. Of course, if I had had a pretty face, or if my hair had been an acceptable color, that wouldn't have been a problem. But my face was shapeless, not a blob but thin and pointed in some places and round and plump in others. And my hair... it wasn't even a _color_ for goodness sakes. It was blond, or as close as I could guess, but it was too light to be the nice golden blond of some and too dark to be the beautiful silver of others. It would have been pure white if not for the butternut under tone that gave it an almost sickly yellow color.

My figure wasn't bad, but it wasn't startling. I wasn't fat, but I wasn't thin either. And I wasn't something that was in a perfectly balanced middle, I wasn't a model. My body curved into a slight hourglass, though subtly, so fine were the curves that you almost couldn't tell at first glance. The loose shirts that I wore didn't help either. I sighed and looked away from the window, turning my plain face to the front of the classroom, where the teacher was still rambling. I had to give it to him, he was persistent. Even though most of the class was looking away from him, some even going as far as holding conversations right in front of him, he didn't give up. He just stared stubbornly ahead, giving his lesson as if his life depended on it.

The bell rang and I sighed again, gathering up my books smoothly. Well, the good thing was that school was over, so that worked. The bad thing was that now I had no place to escape to.

"Hey, Medusa!"

I looked up sharply, causing a group of boys to laugh obnoxiously.

"It's Media," I said crossly, not really in the mood for their teasing. I wasn't too proud of my name, either. It was different enough that people made fun of me for it, but not different enough for people to think I was special, like Amaranth. I think my grandmother had been reading some of that Greek mythology that she likes so much before I was born. It would explain a lot.

For those of you not familiar with the finer points of Greek myth, Media was a witch who fell in love with the hero Jason. Later, Jason dumped her for another lady, causing Media to go insane and kill his wife. She then disappeared in a dark cloud, riding a chariot pulled by dragons. Wonderful legacy, hunh?

Anyways, most people get it mixed up with the snake-haired Medusa, which might not be on purpose if you think about it. Remember the indefinable mess that I have for hair?

"Whatever," one of the boys, probably the speaker, said impatiently. "Doesn't matter, you're still a freak."

I almost sighed for the third time that hour. Yeah, that's me. The freak.

"Would you just leave me alone?" I muttered, loud enough for them to hear.

"No, not really," the boy answered, smirking. He stepped forward and pushed me into the dirty window.

My head clunked into the glass, causing a few people below to glance up, curious. One of them was Amaranth. Some of them laughed, but he just gave me that odd look that was like being seen and yet not being seen at the same time.

I glared at the boys, my violet eyes sparking in anger. Yeah, you heard me. Violet. The only feature of my face that I actually liked. They were mysterious, different and, when I'm angry, menacing.

I was angry now.

The boy backed up, his smug smirk still plastered on his face but a little forced. The farther he got, the more confident he became. He was just coming in for another go when the teacher came up behind him.

"I think you should leave now," Mr. Cap said quietly. His real name is Capricorn, but nobody likes to say that. So, some time ago, some kid shortened it to Cap, and the tradition passed on. He was my only friend at school, the only one who understood me.

The boys laughed and walked out of the classroom. The one flashed me a look and I knew they would be waiting for me to leave, standing just outside the door like sharks. Cap knew it too.

"Maybe you should stay back with me," he said softly. "I'll drive you back home."

I nodded. He wordlessly handed me his cell phone for me to call my grandmother.

I punched in the number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello? Hello?" an irritated voice asked on the second ring.

"Hey Sage, it's me," I said in forced calm. I never called her grandma, just Sage. She told me to, and so I did.

"Media? What are you doing? Why aren't you home yet?" the irritated voice demanded.

"I'm still at school, they just let out. Sorry Sage, I won't be home for a while. I ran into some trouble, so I've got to stay back a bit. Cap'll bring me home."

There was a slight pause. Then, Sage 's voice came again, only more gently.

"Was it the boys?"

I sighed. That was answer enough.

Sage sighed too.

"I'll see you when you get home," she murmured.

I shut the phone and handed it to Cap. He nodded and looked through the window. Cap is a tall man, slim with a mop of straw colored hair on the top of his head. He's always calm, which is saying something because nobody gives him any respect or credit. He has a nasty temper, though, if you poke him enough to awaken it. I guess we're alike in those ways.

There was a knock at the door, not obnoxious like the others, just cool and demanding.

Cap looked up and went still. His eyes flickered to me and back to the door.

"Come in," he said softly.

Amaranth walked in. Of course. This day just couldn't be complete without him walking in on my huge embarrassment. Oh no, that would be too easy for me.

His dark eyes flickered to me, but again it was like being seen without being seen. Like being acknowledged as an object instead of a person. I felt my fists clench. Cutest guy in school or not, I was sick of being treated like furniture.

"Amaranth," Cap said, just as quiet as ever but with a nervous edge to his voice. I saw his gaze flicker to me again.

"We have a meeting to day," Amaranth said, not loudly, but with and edge of authority that made argument useless. I could already see Cap deflating, like he didn't have the energy to object. That made me angrier.

"Yes, well, I can see you two are _very_ busy," I said loudly, watching in satisfaction that soon turned to annoyance as their eyes slid to me. Amaranth still wouldn't really look at me. "So I'll just be going now," I finished through my teeth. " I'll see you tomorrow, Cap."

Then, I stalked out of the room, trying not to stomp or storm. Calm, control, anger is bad. It isn't any good right now.

But it still felt good to slam my locker door open and then bang it shut again. I couldn't hear anything from behind Cap's door, so I hoped they were listening.

Grumbling under my breath, I headed for the door.

Sage was waiting for me on the porch. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw me alone and walking.

Sage looks really old, even for a grandmother. Her hair is a pure white, whiter than my sickly yellow hair, and her skin is like a map of wrinkles all across her face. She doesn't move much, but when she does there's a power to it, like a lazy predator. Not completely active, but still lethal.

Her violet eyes, the same shade as mine looked at me questioningly.

"Where's Cap?" she asked.

"Oh, just being chummy with that darn Amaranth," I said, badly hiding my fury. "That guy just has to have his own way, it's sickening. And he doesn't even look at people like they're people, he just acts like they're furniture. And people let him!" I raged, knowing I was sounding completely stupid and not caring. "I don't care how freaking' popular or cute he is, you just don't do that!"

I flopped down on the bare brown couch just inside the doorway, my arms crossed.

Sage sat down gently beside me. Her arm touched mine gently and she smiled, amused.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," she crooned. "It'll all be alright soon. You're going to turn fifteen in just two days, you know."

"So what?" I asked, still sullen. "It's not like some magical transformation will suddenly occur and I'll magically become pretty and wanted."

Sage opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and shook her head.

"Just get some sleep, sweety," she said quietly. "You'll feel better in the morning."

I doubted that, but I went to bed anyways.

I hadn't realized how late it was. The sun must have gone down when I was storming down the sidewalk, too preoccupied with my anger to notice. I sighed and turned over in my bed, my eyes shutting of their own accord.


	2. Things Get Weird

Chapter 2

I had a weird dream that night.

One minute, I was drifting in an endless sea of black, just relaxing. The next, I was in a room. It was dark, hardly any light shown through, but I could still see somehow. Faintly, I heard a quiet sound, like crying. I looked around, confused, trying to locate the sound, but I couldn't see anything, which was weird. Everything else was clear as crystal, I should be able to see who was crying in here.

Then I realized, the sound wasn't coming from around me. It was coming from me. The crying was mine, the quiet gasps belonged to me. I tried to figure this out, but just then the door opened and closed, casting the room into more shadow. Someone stepped forward hesitantly, as if uncertain that he could approach me.

"Who are you?" I choked out, suddenly getting control of myself.

He looked at me, or at least it seemed like he was looking at me, I couldn't see his eyes.

He didn't say anything, just stared until I felt really uncomfortable. I tried to look around, but there was nothing to see. Damn it, no escaping that gaze.

Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. I glared him in the eye, sort of, (I still had no idea where his eyes were) and set my mouth into a grim line.

"Look, are you going to tell me who you are and why you're here, or am I just going to have to make you?" I said, trying to sound menacing. It didn't have quite the reaction I was looking for. The person chuckled, giving him away instantly.

I crawled slowly towards the sound and immediately heard him scrambling away. Aha, I had him. I smiled grimly and followed, reaching out to grab his hand...

The alarm clock buzzed just as I was making contact. I sat bolt upright and groaned as the blood rushed to my head, making me fall back again. Right, note to self: don't jump up after you've had about ten hours of sleep.

I straightened up slowly and got out of bed, my mind still on the dream. What on earth was that? I couldn't make any sense of it, but it felt like something important. That's what bothered me. Finally, I gave up, resolving to ask Sage about it when I got home after school. She was still asleep this time of day, it was unlike Sage to get up before noon.

I smiled wryly. What a night owl.

I walked to school again, too keyed up to catch the bus. I was early anyhow, so it would give me some time to get there. I was too preoccupied with my puzzlement over the dream to see what was coming. It was only when I heard a rock skid over the cement that I realized that someone had followed me.

I whirled around, prepared to yell, and saw the boys from yesterday. Oh, great.

Only, this time they were different. I realized that there were more of them, for one thing. They seemed unstable somehow, almost like they were high on something. It was hard to put my finger on it, but something was different. Something bad.

The one boy who had pushed me yesterday stepped forward, swaying slightly on his feet, his eyes unfocused. Oh, they were drunk. This was going to be fun.

"Hey...Medusa," he drawled in a slow, slurred voice.

I rolled my eyes.

"It's Media, you drunken fool," I said scathingly.

His eyes narrowed, he swayed again.

"You look more like a Medusa, snake hair," he muttered.

"That's a matter of opinion," I pointed out, all ready bored with the conversation. I turned around and started to walk away.

That was a mistake.

I heard a wild yell and turned just in time to see the boy coming down on me. He had launched himself from his place on the curb to jump me. Startled, I pulled away sharply, hoping to get out of the way. He was stronger than I thought, though. I hadn't moved two feet when suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed me by the ankle, sending me sprawling across the pavement. Ouch. I winced as my head met the sidewalk.

Then I rolled over, trying to untangle myself from the boy. He just laughed stupidly, holding on tightly. For the first time, I felt a small flash of fear. These guys might be drunk and dangerously low on brain power, but they were strong and fast. They could actually kill me.

"We missed you yesterday, snake hair," the one holding me whispered.

I struggled wildly, hoping to get free. He laughed, his grip tightening. I yelped and kicked him in the face. He howled and pulled away. I jumped on my feet and started to run, hearing the pounding steps behind me with dread.

There was drunken laughter and angry yells, like an animal in pain. I fought the urge to look behind me, still running. In my panic, I almost didn't notice the tall, dark boy in front of me. I skidded to a stop, just a few feet away from knocking him to the ground.

Man, I have got to get a better grip on my eyesight, I thought grimly.

I heard the boys behind me again, this time closer, and whirled around in panic. Suddenly, I heard quiet footsteps moving around me. I glanced up and saw the dark boy moving in front of me, almost protectively. His dark hair swirled away from his face in the light wind, hair so dark it was almost purple. I could almost see his piercing dark eyes flashing in the dim light. It was Amaranth.

Oh, come on! Was there anything in this day that could go right?

The drunken boys came to an unsteady halt a few feet from Amaranth. They saw me looking around him and smiled stupidly. One of them stepped forward, confident. I guess it had never occurred to him that Amaranth was twice his size and could easily knock him flat. Yeah, never even crossed his mind.

"Outta the way, Amaranta," he drawled.

The others chuckled, sounding a lot like monkeys in a zoo. Okay, so it wasn't fair to the monkeys. Monkeys smelled better.

Amaranth's mouth twitched, as if he had heard me, but it quickly turned down in a menacing leer.

"Get away. Now," he said flatly.

The boy's confident smile twitched and faltered. He backed up slowly and turned tail to run. The others in his group watched him go. They looked back at Amaranth, and then at each other. I could almost see the wordless math. One guy, who was obviously too over confident, and one useless girl, versus about five or six of them. Good odds, for them. I felt my jaw clench, stupidly angry. Who did they think they were that they could knock around kids like me? Suddenly, I welcomed whatever they were going to throw at me; I wanted a good go at these bozos. My mouth set and I felt myself tense, waiting for their attack.

It never came. The boys looked up again and I could see something almost inhuman pass across their faces. Their drunken looks vanished and suddenly I realized that the drunken thing was all an act. They were in complete control.

One of them, a tall man with a heavy set jaw and dark, shadowed blue eyes, stepped forward. He looked at Amaranth, his eyes narrowed. Amaranth stiffened in front of me, then relaxed.

The group gave one last look at me before walking away.

When they had left, Amaranth turned to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" I called, running to catch up. Man, he was fast.

Amaranth stopped and turned around reluctantly. His eyes cut through me again, but it looked slightly forced now.

"What?" he asked sharply.

I faltered a little but kept going, walking by his side.

"I just wanted to say thanks," I said quietly. "You didn't need to do that."

He shrugged.

"Well, I wouldn't be much better than them if I let them hurt you, Media," he said, in that annoying and strangely cute arrogant voice.

I looked at him sharply.

"Why did you call me that?" I demanded.

He looked away, slightly surprised.

"I thought your name was Media," he said flatly, without inflection.

"It is. I-I mean yeah, that's my name, but nobody calls me that," I stuttered. "Nobody bothers, actually," I added under my breath.

"I just bothered," he said.

I looked at him again, but he was already silent. Whatever tone that had been underneath the expressionless exterior was gone now.

"Um, thanks," I said slowly.

He looked ahead.

"There's the school. Get to class."

I stared after him, open mouthed, as he walked swiftly away, not even bothering to look behind him.

Flustered, I rushed to my class, getting in just before the bell rang. I heard a few scathing chuckles from my classmates, but I ignored them, my thoughts elsewhere. What had that been about? Why would Amaranth honestly care at all about my well being?

And why did I care if he cared?


	3. Soulmates?

Chapter 3

I walked through the halls after school in a daze, still thinking about the events of this morning. The weird thing was that the boys who had attacked me didn't seem to remember anything about earlier, and they certainly weren't drunk. The only difference was that they didn't bother to annoy me with their stupid insults, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

I was too caught up in my thoughts to notice the large crowd at first. I started when I heard my name and quickly looked over while making sure that no one noticed.

Ah, the popular crowd. So pretty, so rich, so low on brain cells. Wonderful.

I edged closer to them and hid behind a row of lockers, listening. Just as I thought, they were talking about me. Well, this made things so much better. Not.

"...such a freak, that Medusa. Don't know why anyone puts up with her..."

"Did you even see her clothes? Talk about nightmare..."

"....Looks like a freakin' witch, that Medusa..."

"Media, her name's Media."

At the last voice, everything froze for a second. I had noticed Amaranth in the crowd (who wouldn't?), but it wasn't like him to make a comment. At least, not in these conversations...

"What's a Media?" One of the boys, who obviously had less brain cells than a second grader, asked.

"She was a witch from Greek myth who later turned evil and killed the wife of her lover," one of the few smart girls in the crowd offered.

I heard someone snort.

"Told you she looked like a witch."

"Yeah, so does that grandmother of hers."

"I bet they do voodoo in that house."

"Yeah, did you hear what happened to Collin and Randy this morning?"

"....completely blacked out..."

"...don't remember a thing..."

"..bet she put a spell on them, huh?"

"She's a witch, burn her, burn her!" One guy yelled, earning a few chortles.

I couldn't stand it. I turned and ran away, my footsteps echoing down the hall.

"Hey! There goes the witch!"

"Watch out! She might put a spell on you!"

"Here witchy, here witchy, witchy!"

"Leave me ALONE!" I yelled over my shoulder, dodging into an empty classroom to escape the laughter.

I slammed the door after me and retreated to a far corner of the room, away from any windows and doors, away from any people. I buried my face in my arms and tried not to cry.

"Are you alright?"

I jerked my head up. Amaranth was standing over me. I hadn't heard him come in. Dang it. I glared at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said shortly, wondering if I should tell him to leave or not.

He looked embarrassed.

"Sorry about the name thing. I thought it would be better for you if they knew your real name," he muttered.

I choked out something that wasn't quite a laugh.

"Yeah, I went from a monster from a witch. What a nice improvement," I mumbled.

"You know, witches aren't-" he started, then seemed to think better of it. Almost hesitantly, he touched my shoulder gently. "Um, do you want to go home now?" he asked.

I nodded, feeling like an idiot.

"You're not an idiot," Amaranth said, almost fiercely, as he led me out of the building. I saw some people gape at us, but he ignored them.

"How did you-? Never mind," I sighed.

Amaranth didn't say anything.

When we reached my house, he turned towards me.

"Hey, how about I walk you to school tomorrow?" he asked slowly, as if the idea was just dawning on him.

I raised my eyebrows but shrugged.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered.

He smiled, or half smiled. Amaranth isn't the type of guy to really beam at you. He turned to go, but just as he did a sheet of paper slipped out of one of his pockets. Instinctively, we both reached for the paper at the same time. My hand brushed his, and the world disappeared.

* * *

I stared around me at the golden place that I had somehow gotten myself into. Well, this was new.

_What's going on?_

It was my voice, but I didn't really say it so much as think it.

_I was hoping you could tell me that._

Amaranth. He was here too. Was this someone's idea of a sick joke?

_No, I don't think this is a joke._

_Will you get out of my head?_ I snapped irritably. I was kind of freaking out at the moment and I didn't exactly need an audience.

Amaranth chuckled nervously.

_Sorry, I can't help it_, he muttered.

That was true; we seemed to have this creepy mind connection. There was something else too. I couldn't exactly explain it, but it seemed to intensify every time I thought of Amaranth. Sort of a mix of longing and recognition and....

I broke away from the last thought.

_Do you know what this is?_ I directed this question at Amaranth, wherever he was.

_I have a theory...._ He sounded hesitant.

_What is it?_

_Well, it's....it's called the soulmate principle_, he explained slowly.

Soulmates?

_Er, I didn't think that stuff existed, to tell you the truth,_ I thought, wondering if he was nuts. I could sense that he believed it though. There was something coming from his mind, something different, something that explained all of this. He just wouldn't let me see what it was. I moved slowly towards where his mind was. I felt him pull away. Thinking suddenly of my dream, I pressed forward with a sense of foreboding.....

"Media!"

I jerked out of the golden place at the sound of my grandmother's voice. I noticed that Amaranth and I had somehow ended up kneeling together on the sidewalk, our arms around each other. Amaranth pulled away sharply. His eyes were unreadable, like always. Grrrr, why couldn't he come with a manual?

I looked up at Sage's alarmed face.

"Err, coming Sage. Just had to help Amaranth get his uhh pencil," I offered lamely.

"His pencil?" Sage repeated shakily.

"Er, yeah. So, uh, I'll just be going now," I said awkwardly. "Look," I added under my breath. "I don't know what you're keeping from me, but it must be something important. I'm sorry if you don't trust me, but....just give me a chance."

Amaranth looked at me in a strangely old and sad way and nodded.

"Don't lock your window," he breathed.


	4. Monster

**Disclaimer (honestly, I should have done this a while ago) I DO NOT OWN NIGHTWORLD.……..unfortunately. **** Oh well, thanks to the people who reviewed! It really means a lot!**

Chapter 4

"Did you get in trouble?"

I shook my head, sitting cross legged on the edge of my bed. It was past midnight and Amaranth had just slipped through my window. He leaned casually against the wall, his intense eyes on me.

"Nah, she just muttered a lot and started getting all over protective. Then she started mumbling weird things about a goddess and something called a council. Weird, huh?"

Amaranth looked alarmed.

"This is bad," he muttered, then he shuddered.

"Excuse me?"  
Amaranth shuddered again and looked up at me sharply, his eyes burning. His face was paler than before, and the look on his face reminded me of someone who had been possessed. Suddenly, he looked really inhuman.

"Media, you're in danger here. I need to get you away. Now," he hissed. Was it just me, or was his voice a little weird? It was as if someone else was speaking in his voice. He had a faint lisp, too, which was definitely new; and the way his lips were set made it look as if something was partially blocking his mouth....

"Wait, I can't leave," I whispered, alarmed, as the meaning behind his words finally hit me. "What about Sage, and Cap, and-"

"Media, it's the only way you're going to survive," Amaranth snarled. I backed up slowly. He followed, looking really scary. "I didn't want it to come to this.... I thought..... Well, it's over now. There's only one thing to do..."

"Amaranth," I gasped. "What's this about? What's going on?"

Amaranth glared at me and I sucked in breath. His black eyes, usually so deep and mysterious, had gone flat and silvery.

"I'm sorry, but I'll explain later," he whispered. And his lips pulled away from his teeth, revealing long, sharp fangs. He smiled sickeningly, seeming amused about something. "Or, maybe I won't. You wouldn't mind if I killed you, would you? You smell _so_ good…."

My heart was pounding in my chest like a drum, almost drowning out my panicked thoughts. Almost, but not quite.

_Holy CRAP, Amaranth's a VAMPIRE!_ Part of me screamed.

_I'm going to die, I'm going to die,_ Another part of my mind repeated weakly.

_DO SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!!!!!_ Some small part of me that was still sane yelled.

I screamed.

Amaranth froze and the inhuman look disappeared. He looked dazed, his dark eyes slightly unfocused.

"What-?" he started to say.

"G-get away from me!" I screamed at him, scrambling backwards.

Amaranth looked confused.

"Media, what-?"

"G-get away!" I screamed. "Don't touch me, you're a-a monster!"

_Vampire_, the sane part corrected quietly.

_SHUT UP!_ I told it.

Amaranth froze and a pained look crossed his face.

"Media..." he murmured.

"Leave me alone," I choked. I realized I was really close to losing it and crying but I didn't care at the moment. "I-I don't want to see you again. I hate you!"

Amaranth's eyes looked like they were filled with tears too. He backed towards the window, watching me. I turned away, burying my face in the pillows on my bed.

"Fine," he murmured, slipping away into the darkness.

**Me: hee hee, I love cruel twists. ;) **


	5. She's a Witch

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: *sniff* aww…. Darn…..**

Chapter 5

"It's called the Night World."

I stared around the small living room, first at Cap then at Sage.

"So, what, you're saying...you're saying I'm a witch?" I gasped. I was still really close to losing it after the whole Amaranth episode. I was actually surprised that my head hadn't exploded from all of the emotions and information that were being stuffed in to it. It had only been a few hours since Amaranth had left, but it felt like eternity...

Cap and Sage had come running into my room soon after Amaranth had disappeared into the night, their attention grabbed by my screams. While telling them all about the encounter, I had noticed them exchange looks that did not bode well. Soon after I had gained moderate control over myself, Cap had explained to me all about this wonderful world that I belonged in and the wonderful people that I was apparently related to.

Apparently, my being named Media wasn't an accident, since my family was descended from her. We weren't technically part of the big picture of the Night World anymore, not like the Harmans (it still surprised me that I remembered the name), but we were still subject to the Night World laws and we answered directly to the inner circle of witches. Well, we used to. It seemed that most of the witches, lead by the inner circle, had separated from the Night World to join this movement called Circle Daybreak, whatever that was. A few of the witches, those who belonged to Circle Midnight, had stayed in the Night World, but their numbers were shrinking.

Sage, it turned out, was one of the eviler witches, and had completely flipped out when she saw me with Amaranth, whom she had thought was a human. Cap, being the brilliant little witch that he is, had come over so that he could help explain my heritage to me when I woke up. He said he was Circle Midnight, too, but I doubted that.

"So you see," Sage continued. "I couldn't let you be with Amaranth if he was a human. It would break Night World law completely. And humans are vermin anyways."

I noticed Cap flinch and knew I wasn't the only one who didn't necessarily like her explanation.

"But this news of him being a vampire is interesting indeed," Sage continued. "Not many vampires would stoop to loving human vermin, as he no doubt suspected you were. He must be a renegade..." Her voice trailed off and she moved towards the kitchen. Cap looked alarmed. He grabbed my arm tightly and led me out of the door and into the night. As we got farther away from Sage's house, his speed increased until we were almost flying. I stumbled slightly over the ground, causing his grip to tighten. He looked back at me and gave me a look that told me to be quiet. I pressed my lips together and tried not to whimper when my ankles twisted over the uneven ground. I trusted Cap more than I trusted anyone else, even if he was acting really weird.

Cap finally stopped in what looked like Crescent Woods, at least five miles from my house. He released my arm and let me sit down to catch my breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked, slightly breathless.

I nodded and looked up at him, my eyebrows raised expectantly.

"I'm waiting for your brilliant explanation for all of this," I huffed between breaths.

Cap's mouth twitched in something like a smile. He knelt down to look me square in the eye, his expression suddenly serious.

"Listen, Media," he said quietly. "I know you aren't what your grandmother is. Witches in your line tend to be....bitter. Evil, if you want to get technical. But you're not, I know you. And neither is Amaranth, no matter what he tried to do. I don't know how or why he..." Cap trailed off, his eyes widening. "Of course," he murmured. "Kendra."

"You mean my lab partner?" I asked, dumbfounded but also kind of numb. The more I thought of what I had said to Amaranth, the worse I felt. I hated being away from him, it felt like I was missing part of my soul. Which, when you think about it, I probably was.

"Yes, Kendra Dee is another witch, an evil one. Circle Midnight, like Sage. Both of them are on the Council's side of the war."

"Whoa, what war?" I asked, alarmed. I frantically went over Sage's explanation in my head. Had she mentioned a war? I didn't think she had…

"I'll explain later," Cap hissed. "The thing is, Amaranth recently declared that he had switched to the side of Circle Daybreak, the good faction of the Night World that wants to protect humans. Kendra, like Sage, might have made the connection to you and tried to scare you away from Amaranth. And, ultimately, get him killed for breaking Night World law and telling a human about the Night World...she must have enchanted him..."

I remembered the possessed look on Amaranth's face when he had tried to bite me and shuddered. Enchantments explained a lot….

"Cap? Are you Circle Daybreak?" I whispered.

Cap looked at me again and smiled.

"If I wasn't, do you think I would have put up with those brats in my classes for so long?" he asked.

I laughed, then sobered.

"I want to find Amaranth," I told him. "I need to tell him that I'm sorry. That I'm not afraid anymore. And-"

I never got to finish that statement. Right at that moment, we both tensed as the sounds of barking dogs came towards us.

Cap swore.

"Sage must have gotten 'shifters to hunt us. Come on, we need to go."

"But, Amaranth-"

"You won't do him any good until you've learned how to defend yourself. Everyone is after us now, Media. Amaranth wouldn't thank you for being dead."


	6. Young Grasshopper

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: *sigh* do you have to remind me?**

**Conscience: *smiles evilly* yes, yes I do.**

Chapter 6

"Now."

I frowned and shot the red-orange fire from between my hands, burning the tree. Cap nodded coolly, inspecting my handiwork. When he looked back at me, his old smile was on his face.

Ever since that fateful night when I had lost my soulmate and discovered my heritage, Cap and I had been running across the East Coast, stopping off and on to practice my powers. Cap was a great teacher, when he wasn't pretending to be human. He had single handedly taught me almost every offensive spell in the book, along with basic witch spells and ward castings and the odd healing spell; all in a span of about two years. By all rights, I should've been in my third year of high school, like any other normal seventeen year old. But I had long ago given up school and other human goals. My only goal was to find my soulmate, and somehow find a way to save the world from my evil grandmother while I was at it.

I shook my now light gold hair out of my face to smile at Cap. Apparently, being on the run from evil witches had its advantages in weight loss and improvement of hair color. The sun had long ago turned my sickly colored hair gold and I had recently cast off the baggy clothes that had marked my human years. Now, my favorite clothing consisted of jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers, and a light jacket with a hood. My bag, a medium sized black messenger, carried all of my herbs, stones, and whatever else I used when casting some of my spells. I was ready to run at a moment's notice, which was what I was about to do. Today was my final test. Cap was finally going to let me go after Amaranth, wherever he was by now.

Cap smiled at me again and sighed, looking almost sad.

"Well, I see I've taught you well, young grasshopper," he said wistfully.

I grinned and hugged him.

"You're the best, Cap," I muttered. "Try not to let Sage get you down."

He laughed.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind." He pulled away, serious now. "Media, I think I know where Amaranth is."

I nodded, trying to look calm. Yeah, right. My heart could probably be heard from Mexico, it was beating so loud.

"I've learned that Amaranth officially joined Circle Daybreak shortly after leaving you. Circle Daybreak is lead by Thierry Descouedres in Las Vegas. That is where you should find Amaranth."

I nodded, hugged Cap again, and walked away into the woods.

**Me: Sorry it's kind of short, hopefully the next one's longer.**


	7. I Get Lost

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: NOOOO!!!! WHY?**

**Conscience: Suck it up, will you?**

**Me: *sniff* Conscience is mean.**

Chapter 7

I had to hand it to the Night People; they sure knew the best place to hide.

Las Vegas was one big tourist trap full of thousands of people from around the country, if not the world. I clasped my bag tightly, trying, and failing, to make my way through the crowd, searching for any clue to the Night World; searching for Amaranth.

Yeah, right. Like it would be that easy.

For one thing, Las Vegas was big, way bigger than I had anticipated. For another, it was almost completely impossible to find a regular coffee shop, let alone the headquarters for a renegade Night World organization.

The sun sank like a glowing ruby orb in the darkening sky, although the city itself was far from dark with all of the neon lights around. Groaning, I collapsed onto a bench near one of those run down alleyways that tourists aren't supposed to see, far away from people, witches, and vampires (I wasn't counting shifters and werewolves. You could never tell when they were around). Great, I thought wryly. Two years of running from witches and training in forests around the country and here I was, lost in an overrated tourist trap of a city because my sense of direction sucked. Irony was annoying.

"Excuse me," an exceedingly gentle, if not slightly pensive, voice said.

My eyes snapped open and I found myself looking into the blue eyes of a man not much older than I was. His blond colored hair was long, down to around his chin, but it was smooth, styled, and definitely rich. My gaze shifted almost absently, looking for a pin or ring of some sort. I always did this whenever I met a new person, checking cautiously to see if they were a Night Person. My eye was caught by an intricate ring with a black rose on it, the symbol of the made vampires. Ah, a Night Person.

I smiled up at him, still wary.

"Um, excuse me sir, but would you happen to know where I might find Lord Thierry," I asked sweetly.

The man's face went blank.

"That depends on who wants to see him" he said warily.

"I'm sorry, sir. My name is Media. I'm a witch, and-"

"Wait, you say your name is Media?" The man interrupted.

"Um, yes?" I replied cautiously, my confusion making the statement into a question.

"Is your grandmother Sage?"

"Yes?" Again with the statement/question thing.

"Do you know an Amaranth?"

My breath caught and I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Do you know where he is?" I breathed.

The man smiled kindly.

"I think I might, if you can clear a few things up for me," he said gently. "First off, why are you looking for him now, after so many years?"

I felt my eyes fill and spill over. It wasn't as if I hadn't asked myself that question hundreds of times over the last two years, it was just that the question itself sounded so much worse coming from someone else.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" I murmured. "Not that I really blame him, I hate me too. After I said....those things, I learned that I was a witch and I found out that another witch had caused the....misunderstanding between me and Amaranth. I've been on the run from some other witches who are on the Council's side for the past two years, trying to learn some spells in between so that I could find Amaranth and tell him.... tell him I'm sorry and that I love him."

The man's smile was almost tremulous now.

"That's all I needed to know," he said kindly. "My name is Thierry Descouedres. I am the leader of Circle Daybreak. Amaranth has been with us for two years. He came after he discovered his human soulmate, or rather his witch soulmate. He told me his entire story, and I am very close to that boy. So is Ash Redfern for that matter...."

I wondered vaguely who Ash Redfern was, but quickly pushed the question out of my head.

"So, Amaranth doesn't hate me?" I asked tentatively.

Thierry smiled at me warmly.

"I can assure you that if you tell Amaranth what you have just told me, nothing in either world could make him happier," he said gently.

I smiled tentatively back and was just about to say something when the thugs attacked.

**Me: Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	8. Did He Say Dragon?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: *sniff* **

Chapter 8

I leapt to my feet just as a ball of witch fire came at me, followed quickly by a huge bear. I blocked the fire and rebound it at the bear. Dimly, I noticed Thierry grappling with another vampire. For a Lord of the Nightworld, he wasn't much of a fighter. I was just about to finish the bear off when what felt like a lightning bolt of pure dark matter energy coursed through me, causing me to cry out in pain. I collapsed to the ground in agony before everything went black.

* * *

"Media? Media are you alright?"

Thierry's voice came to me through the darkness. I groaned and stirred, finding myself on a cold, hard floor. Thierry was leaning over me, his face concerned. I noticed a dark haired girl with snapping blue eyes in the background.

"Who're you?" I asked her groggily.

"Mary-Lynette," she answered. "You can call me Mare, though."

"Media," I replied. "That's pretty much all you can call me."

Mare smiled.

"She is Ash Redfern's soulmate," Thierry explained to me. Obviously introductions had already taken place. "She's a human."

"Oh." My eyes widened. She was in the same position I had been in, before I had found out about my heritage. "Is Ash a vampire too?"

"Yeah, he's a lamia, which means he can age if he wants to," she said. "He left me for a year after he promised to become a better person. That was a while ago."

"Oh." This time I didn't add anything.

"But don't worry," she added quickly. "I understand what he's been doing now. Thierry told me all about it while you were unconscious. You must've taken a beating to get knocked out for so long"

"Yeah, what was that?" I demanded. "What knocked me out like that?"

"A dragon," Thierry said simply.

"Dra-what?" I gulped.

"Yeah, that was my reaction," Mare said, sounding like she still hadn't gotten over the fact. "I think it's going after the soulmates of people in Circle Daybreak, or maybe just Circle Daybreak itself. It must know that if it captures a Daybreaker, the person's soulmate or friends will come after it."

"Which will mean easy victims," I realized, disgusted. "Well, it kind of screwed up with me. Sure, Ash will miss you and Thierry will be missed, but Amaranth doesn't even know I'm coming."

Thierry cleared his throat, looking guilty. Mare and I turned to look at him, our eyebrows raised.

"Well, actually, he and Ash already know. One of my agents was in the alley when we were attacked. I told her telepathically who you were, Media, and sent her back to base. All of Circle Daybreak probably knows that we've been taken by now. And Mary-Lynette was staying with Ash's sisters, which means he will know what happened to you."

"Poor girls, he's going to kill them when he gets the chance," Mare said, trying to sound light and failing.

"But, if any of them comes after us, they're dead," I moaned, my eyes closing of their own accord. "Amaranth....oh crap."

"Wait, are you giving up?" Mare demanded.

"Um, kind of. You ever beat a dragon before?"  
"If you give up, what hope does Amaranth have? You need to keep fighting for his sake," Mare urged.

I almost shook my head, until I realized that I still had my bag. My eyes snapped open and I started rummaging madly. I gave a small cheer as I pulled out a tiny vial of sloshing red liquid.

"What is it?" Mare asked, curious.

"Super explosive potion," I said triumphantly.

Mare whooped and Thierry smiled.

"Yes, that should help if we are going to blow off his horns," he mused. "But we have to get out of here first."

**Me: Thanks to all the people who reviewed! It means a lot! **


	9. Way Too Far

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: WAAAAHHHH!!! WHY?!?**

**Conscience: She's in denial.**

Chapter 9

Amaranth walked restlessly through the giant mansion. He was usually like this whenever he wasn't on a mission. He couldn't help it, really. Ever since he had left Media, it had gotten harder and harder to keep his mind off of her. He had a feeling that if he gave himself permission to think, it would be that much harder to resist the urge to see her again.

The front door slammed, making him look up. Maybe Thierry was back....

Lupe burst into the anteroom, her hair disheveled, her dark eyes wild. She looked around frantically, as if she needed to find someone, but really didn't want to.

"Lupe? What's up?" Amaranth asked, alarmed.

Lupe looked up at him.

"Uh, nothing. Where's Hannah?"

"She's coming," Nilsson called from the doorway. "And you should really tell Amaranth, Lupe. This involves him, too."

Lupe looked over at Amaranth as if just realizing he was there.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Amaranth," she said hastily.

"Lupe, what's wrong?" he demanded, panicked.

"Er, well-"

"Lupe!"

They both whirled around as the new voice joined them. Hannah ran towards them, her face worried, her light hair swirling around her face.

"Lupe, what's wrong?" she gasped, looking between Amaranth and Lupe.

"Lord Thierry's been kidnapped," Lupe told them grimly.

Hannah made a small sound that sounded like a sob. Amaranth stared at Lupe, incredulously.

"Wait, there's more," Lupe pressed on. "He wasn't alone. Some other kid was with him. Some girl named Media or something. Apparently she knew you, Amaranth."

Amaranth was stunned. There was no way that there could be two Media's in his acquaintance. It had to be her, his soulmate who didn't want him, and whom he hadn't seen in two years. But why had she been here? And, more importantly, where was she now?

"Do you know who took her?" he demanded, fury welling up inside of him. If those idiots had hurt her....

"I called Thea. She'll be here soon to do a locating spell. Meanwhile-"

"Hannah!"

The trio looked around again as Ash came barreling down the hall, his face contorted in an all too familiar emotion...

"Mary-Lynette, she's gone," he gasped painfully. "She was taken by someone, but Rowan doesn't know who. They said she just disappeared yesterday."

Ash looked just as fearful and furious as Amaranth felt, and from the look on Hannah's face, they weren't the only ones.

Just then, the door slammed open, admitting two figures, both in stages of agitation. Amaranth quickly recognized Thea Harman, one of the founders of Circle Daybreak, and Delos, one of the three Wild Powers that Circle Daybreak had located so far. Both were known for being deadly calm; but at the moment, their control was gone.

Delos wasted no time getting to the point.

"Maggie is gone," he growled. "Someone took her from the safe house an hour ago."

Amaranth bit back a growl himself. Whoever was behind this, they had gone way too far.

**Me: Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed the bit with Amaranth**


	10. The Search Is On

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: Okay…. I'm okay. I will not freak out, I will not freak out….**

**Conscience: Wait for it….**

**Me: WAAHHH!!!! WHY!?!**

**Conscience: hee hee, still in denial**

Chapter 10

I looked up as the cell door clanged shut. A new girl stood in the cell, her hair a blazing red. She glanced around at us warily, her hands clenched into fists at her side. He eyes sparked in warning, threatening to kill whoever came within ten feet of her. Whoever this chick was, she wasn't someone to be messed with. I liked her.

Just then, she saw Thierry.

"Lord Thierry?" she asked cautiously.

Thierry smiled gently at her.

"Hello Maggie, what brings you here?" he asked politely, as if she was just dropping by for tea and not being held against her will.

The girl, Maggie, frowned.

"I was at the safe house with Delos, talking with Jez and Morgead. Suddenly, I had this urge to go outside and get some air. When I went out the door, someone- something knocked me out and somehow I got here....." Her voice trailed off and she looked around at the three of us, her eyebrows raised.

"Same thing happened to me," Mare piped up. "Except for the whole safe house and Delos, Jez, and Morgead thing. I don't know who those guys are."  
"Join the club," I muttered.

Maggie looked at us, suspicion rising on her face again.

Thierry must have noted this too because he introduced us quickly.

"Maggie, this is Mary-Lynette, Ash's soulmate, and Media, Amaranth's soulmate. They've been captured also."

Maggie nodded, still not seeming totally convinced.

"Anyways, we're not going to be sticking around for too much longer," I broke in.

"What? How? Why?" Maggie demanded, turning to me almost reluctantly.

"Well, for one thing, the longer we stay here, the more our soulmates are going to be looking for us," I explained lightly. "And, of course, that would be bad."

"Why is that bad?" the girl asked, still not totally getting the situation.

"Because we're being held by a dragon," Thierry murmured.

Maggie's eyes widened.

* * *

Amaranth kept his eyes fixed on the road in front of him as he drove at breakneck speed down the winding roads of South America. He could see Ash's bright red Hummer swinging violently around the sharp turns. Beside Amaranth, Hannah winced as they made yet another sharp turn without slowing down, but she didn't say a word.

Hannah wasn't supposed to have come on the mission; in fact, she was supposed to have stayed back at the headquarters in Las Vegas surrounded by guards. But, of course, she had thought differently. There was no way she was going to sit behind while Thierry was in danger. No freaking way.

She glanced at Amaranth for what felt like the thousandth time since they had left the airport. Out of all of them, Amaranth seemed the most upset by his soulmate's predicament. Even Ash, who also hadn't seen his soulmate in a long time, wasn't quite as furious and alarmed as Amaranth. Maybe that was because Amaranth hadn't seen his soulmate in almost two years, and when he had last seen her she'd told him to go away.

Hannah winced, remembering the time when she had told Thierry to go away. Stupidest thing she'd ever done in all of her lives. She hadn't lasted two days without having to go and look for Thierry, what could possibly make Amaranth's soulmate wait for two years?

Well, Hannah thought wryly. Whatever the reason, she was going to regret it now.

Her cellphone rang, calling her back to the real world. Hannah flipped the cell phone open almost absently.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

Thea's voice crackled over the phone's bad connection.

"We've found it."


	11. Escape For Most of Us

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: …..**

**Conscience: What? No yelling?**

**Me:…**

**Conscience: No! I love the yelling!**

Chapter 11

It was Mare who heard the cars first.

"Someone's coming," she hissed nervously.

Media looked up from her preparations.

"Perfect," was all she said. Mare tried not to show how much the look on Media's face scared her.

Media leapt up from her place by the cell door, pulling Maggie back with her. She motioned with her hand for Thierry and Mare to back up against the back wall. She flashed a quick wink at her friends before lighting the fuse.

The explosion was loud enough to be heard from miles away, and big enough to blow most of the prison out of existence. Mare and Maggie flinched but stood their ground as the fire flared up around them. Media smirked with satisfaction when several screams reached her ears.

Once the fire had faded, Media turned and smiled at her companions.

"Wish me luck," she joked before running off into the smoke.

Thierry watched her go with concern, but quickly pushed the feeling away as he and the girls began to flee the building. Protecting Mare and Maggie was more important.

The three froze as headlights swung violently across the road, nearly blinding them. Thierry tensed protectively in front of the girls, while Mare and Maggie both clutched makeshift stakes tightly.

Then a voice called out from behind the headlights, a voice that sent an immediate reaction through Thierry's soul.

"Thierry!" Hannah cried in relief, rushing to him as fast as she possibly could.

She ran into him like a linebacker, hugging him tightly and giving no sign of ever letting go.

Mare and Maggie watched the two with a mix of relief and confusion.

"Mare!" "Maggie!"

Both looked up at the sound of their names, smiles already forming on their lips.

"Ash!" Mary-Lynette yelled as he gathered her in his arms.

Maggie laughed and tackled Delos, hugging him almost as tightly as he hugged her.

Then another voice broke in through the many hugs and cries of relief.

"Where's Media?" Amaranth demanded.

Thierry broke apart from Hannah and looked at Amaranth cautiously.

"I-I don't know," he admitted slowly.

* * *

I ran quickly through the burning halls, barely noticing the burned bodies of vampires and shapeshifters that I jumped over. My hand clutched the bottle with the potion that would destroy the dragon, praying that it would be enough to kill it.

Almost inevitably, my mind wandered back to the others. I was sure that they would be able to make it away in time. After all, Thierry was a vampire. I hoped they would be able to get back to their soulmates. I hoped Thierry would explain to Amaranth about what had happened. I hoped that Amaranth would be happy after I was gone.

I wasn't planning on surviving this attack. I didn't have a hope of even making it through more than five minutes with the dragon. I just had to hope that those five minutes would be enough time to finish him off.

More than anything, I hoped that Amaranth and the others would survive.

**Me: Thanks to all the people who reviewed! You guys rock!! **


	12. Vampires Are Stubborn Creatures

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Me: ….*sniff***

**Conscience: Wait, what was that?!**

**Me: … *small giggle***

Chapter 12

I came to a stop near the door of a room not far from the epicenter of the explosion. Unlike the rest of the prison, this room was perfectly intact, without a single scratch on its surface. I steeled myself and forced the door open, brandishing a stake in case a vampire attacked me.

The dragon sat demurely in the center of the room. At least, I assumed that it was the dragon since it was the only living creature in the room. The dragon looked up at me with opaque black eyes, his lips curving into a sinister smile. Immediately, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"Well, well," he mused. "So you're the little girl who caused all of this trouble."

I bowed slightly, trying to hide my unease. Maybe my namesake was finally getting to me.

"That would be me," I answered lightly. "I also do parties, proms, and wedding receptions."  
The dragon smirked, amused by my sarcasm.

"So, what do you propose to do now?" he asked casually, as if we were discussing the weather.

"Well, I was thinking of throwing this bottle into your face in about five seconds. But it was only a thought."

The dragon looked up at me seriously. Or, sort of seriously. There was still an evil smirk playing around his lips.

"We'll see," he simpered.

Then he lunged.

* * *

Amaranth ran down the halls of burning rubble, searching desperately for Media. He tried not to look too closely at the burned and mangled bodies on the floor around him, in case one of them was hers. He didn't think he could handle it if....

He never finished that thought.

* * *

The dragon loomed over me, enjoying my suffering. His dark energy crackled around me, burning me. I clenched my teeth against the screams of pain that threatened to escape them. Slowly, painfully, I reached for my bag and weakly tossed one of the many potions at him. The dragon warded it off easily, laughing at my efforts.

"You pathetic little girl," he murmured. "That's what you are. Just a tiny, little, insignificant-"

"Get away from her, you slimy git."

The dragon broke off and stared over me towards the door. I followed his gaze, silently hoping that I had mistaken that all too recognizable voice. Yeah, like I should be so lucky.

Amaranth stood in the doorway, his black eyes crackling with a righteous fire. His lips curled back from his teeth in a feral snarl as he glared at the dragon. Despite the life threatening situation we were in, I couldn't help noticing that he looked a lot cuter than before.

The dragon looked mildly surprised at the intrusion.

"Well, well, well," he said thoughtfully. "What have we here? Another trouble maker? We can't have that, now can we?"

"Don't touch him," I spit.

The dragon smirked at me.

"Why would I do that? I can take care of him easily without ever having to come in contact with him."

Not if I can help it, I thought stubbornly.

"Touch this!" I yelled, throwing one of the potions at his face.

The bottle broke on contact, spilling searing liquid all over the dragon's skin. He screamed in pain and turned away, scrabbling at his face in agony.

Amaranth froze, watching him for a moment, before running to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked urgently.

I ignored his words and tried to push him away.

"Get out," I pleaded. "You've got to get out before it wears off."

Amaranth looked at me blankly, as if the idea of leaving had never occurred to him. In all likelihood, it probably hadn't.

"Please, Amaranth, you've got to get away before the potion wears off," I urged him.

He stared back at me, his pale face set stubbornly.

"Not without you," he said through gritted teeth.

"You're going to die, you stupid vampire!" I screamed at him, trying futilely to push him towards the door. Not surprisingly, he didn't move.

His jaw clenched and he stood his ground.

"I don't care," he growled.

I swore and turned to look at the dragon. The effects of the burning potion were wearing off, and he was starting to regain some sense of what was going on. His opaque eyes turned on me, burning with raw fury.

In that instant, I knew that I was going to die.

I whirled around to face Amaranth, who had been watching the dragon grimly. He moved to put me behind him, but I pulled away.

"Tell Thierry to tell you the story," I said quietly.

Amaranth stared down at me in confusion. He opened his mouth to question me just as I cast the spell.

Immediately, Amaranth was gone, transported back to wherever Thierry and the others were.

I pulled out the explosive potion and threw it at the dragon just as a wave of dark energy hit. I collapsed into unconsciousness just before the room exploded.

* * *

Amaranth stumbled as his feet hit the ground again. He looked around in confusion, expecting to see the dragon and Media in the ruined remains of the building. Instead, Thierry and the others were staring at him with just as much confusion as he felt.

"How-?" Thea started but was interrupted by the explosion.

They all whirled around to see a giant mushroom cloud rising above the treetops.

Amaranth heard Thea and Hannah gasp behind him. Slowly, he turned to look at Thierry, who was watching the cloud with an expression of extreme sadness on his face.

His eyes met Amaranth's, then slid away to stare at the ground.

"She was a good girl," was all he said.

**Me: Thanks to all the people who reviewed! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	13. Wood, Windows, and Grasshoppers

Chapter 13

Teleporting is annoying; teleporting when you're barely conscious sucks; but teleporting when you're nearly dead from dragon energy exposure in the middle of an explosion: that's suicide.

Still, it was worth a shot.

I closed my eyes and struggled to remain conscious long enough to concentrate on the alley in Vegas where I had first seen Thierry, trying to ignore the burning agony of the energy blast.

I felt a familiar spinning sensation just as the bomb exploded, shoving me towards what remained of the wall. I felt myself vanish just before my head banged against the wall.

Let me explain something about teleporting: It's really uncomfortable and it feels like you're being pulled through a small tube the size of a rolling pin. Also, it's really hard to land after you've been teleporting.

I slammed into hard pavement, my head whacking against the ground. The impact took my breath away and sent me spiraling into unconsciousness.

* * *

Amaranth eyed the third story window at the other end of his room in Thierry's house, wishing he could actually die by jumping out of it. Unfortunately, vampires couldn't be killed as easy as that, and Thierry and Ash had taken away all of the wood. They didn't trust him around wood. Actually, he didn't even trust himself around wood. Not that he needed to trust himself; he didn't actually care what his body did so long as it killed him. He needed to die, and soon, before the pain killed him.

Thierry had told him Media's story when they had reached Las Vegas. Amaranth had listened, listened with more focus than he had ever given to a single object before. He needed to know what had brought Media to that damned hideout in South America. Now that he knew, he was ready to die. Strange, he had never thought himself suicidal. Depressed, maybe, but not suicidal.

Strange how a soulmate could change everything, even when they weren't there to know they were changing things.

Amaranth looked away from the window, his black eyes locking on the picture he kept on his bedside table. Media and her grandmother hadn't noticed when the picture went missing, which was probably for the better.

Amaranth looked down at the small picture frame. Media's face smiled up at him innocently, so different from the pained and frightened look she had worn when he found her with the dragon.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not sure if he was talking to the picture or to himself. Maybe both, who knew.

He looked around when the window exploded.

* * *

I finally came to after who knows how long.

The sun glared mercilessly down at the dust-covered alley way where I had landed.

Luckily, the alley was removed from the tourist and mafia sections of Vegas, otherwise I might've gotten into some trouble. Most human doctors, or gang members, weren't certified to take care of a half-dead witch on a teleporting hangover.

I got up gingerly, wincing at the pain that lanced through my side. I winced and stood up, leaning heavily against the wall. A hand caught my shoulder, helping to my feet. I froze. What the heck?

"I was wondering when you would wake up," a familiar voice said with calm relief.

I sighed in relief, unaware that I had been holding my breath.

"Cap?" I whispered.

Cap chuckled.

"Hello, young grasshopper," he said, amused. "Did you get a little sidetracked?"

"Yeah, you could say that," I muttered, thinking of the dragon. "What are you doing here?"

He sighed.

"More dragons have been awakened," he said, weighing his words carefully.

"No kidding," I grumbled sarcastically.

Cap shot me a look but went on.

"Anyways, I've been tracking their movements ever since you left. I figured I might as well do something and with you gone…. Well, I followed them around the country for a few days until- until they lead me here." He paused, seeing the confused look on my face. "The dragons are attacking Circle Daybreak," he explained. "They're starting with the headquarters in Las Vegas."

I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach with an iron glove.

"Amaranth," I gasped.

**Me: Hey guys, sorry this took so long, I've been kinda busy with school work lately. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**


	14. When Dragons Attack

Chapter 14

I ran through the empty back streets of Las Vegas, keeping my eyes on the back of Cap's threadbare jacket. I tried not to stumble every time we made a turn, even though every muscle in my body wanted to kill me. It was never a good idea to run after being attacked by a dragon, but I was making an exception to reason in this case.

We heard the explosion before we saw the effect. Rounding one last corner, I cast a quick glance around me before barreling through the ruined doorway. The mansion had probably been awe-inspiring a few seconds ago, but now it was in ruins; the decorative palm trees lay scattered across the sweeping drive, and the pearl colored walls were now stained black with smoke and fire. The stain glass window above the smashed wooden door was shattered, its fragments lying in a heap below the entryway.

The inside of the mansion was worse. Bodies and furniture were scattered across the floors and staircase, and blood ran across the marble floor. Those who were left standing battled fiercely against hideous dragons with oozing scales and witches clad in midnight hues of blue and black. I looked around frantically for Amaranth, but he wasn't among the fighters. I moved to go up the stairs but was blocked by a black panther, who was locked in an intense battle against one of the dragons.

The panther spared me a wary glance before its attention was recaptured by the dragon. I shot a ball of witchfire at the beast, smirking when the fire hit its mark.

The dragon screeched in agony and tried to lunge towards me, but was blocked by another ball of witchfire from Cap. The fire seared the dragon's two horns off of its head, causing the thing to shudder convulsively and drop to the floor.

The panther nodded to us in thanks and ran off to help a leopard and a curly-haired witch with their adversary.

I looked around again and spotted Thierry near one of the windows that had yet to be shattered.

He was crouched defensively in front of a blond girl, his teeth bared in a feral snarl. A werewolf crouched beside him, her bronze and silver fur bristling angrily as she faced the advancing witch.

I ran to help them, casting a quick glance at Cap as I went. He had moved on to another adversary and was now helping a vampire with copper ringlets take down a dragon while another vampire with grey eyes distracted it.

Thierry's eyes widened when he saw me, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the witch in front of him. I shot some witchfire at the witch's back and ran up to them.

"Where's Amaranth?" I yelled over the sounds of battle.

"Upstairs," Thierry yelled back.

He pulled me and the blond girl down as a bolt of blue lightning shot over our heads. The lightning collided with another dragon, incinerating the beast.

"Nice shot, Delos," Thierry called, straightening up.

A boy with dark hair and gold eyes smiled grimly from his place in front of Maggie. His wrist was wet with blood.

I shivered but made no comment.

"I'm going to find Amaranth," I yelled.

Thierry nodded and snarled at a witch a few yards away.

"Take Hannah with you," he growled, motioning towards the blond girl.

Hannah frowned, obviously not liking the idea, but made no comment. This wasn't exactly the place for an argument.

I grabbed Hannah's hand and ran up the stairs with her in tow. She eyed me curiously, obviously wondering who the heck I was.

"I'm Media," I said loudly, struggling to be heard over the battle.

Hannah's eyes brightened with understanding.

"Hannah Snow," she yelled.

"Nice to meet you," I called. "Now where the heck are we going?"

Hannah gestured towards a hallway that was already partially destroyed. I nodded ran down the hall. Hannah moved to follow but she hesitated as someone screamed.

A girl with black hair was grappling with a witch a few feet away, her iron sword a few feet away.

"Rashel!" Hannah screamed. She pulled an iron dagger from her belt and ran towards the girl.

"Hey, wait a second!" I yelled. "You can't just-"

Hannah jammed the iron dagger into the witch's back, completely ignoring my warning.

"Damn, that girl is tough," I muttered under my breath. "Don't get killed, ok?" I said aloud. "Thierry will kill me if anything happens to you."

Hannah smiled kindly at me and laughed.

"Don't worry," she called. "I'll be fine. You worry about Amaranth."

"Well, yeah, I'm doing that already," I grumbled.

I turned away from Hannah and the black haired girl and ran down the hall.

As I said before, the hall was nearly destroyed. All of the doors had been blown off of their hinges and now lay shattered against the walls across from them. Or, almost all of the doors. One door was still attached to its frame, albeit barely.

I moved towards the room that still had a door and walked inside, a ball of witchfire ready in my hand.

Like the rest of the house, this room had once been nice. Now, however, the large bay window was smashed and the large double bed had been knocked against the wall. I stepped gingerly around the glass that littered the black plush carpet and looked around. The glow from the witchfire cast a sickening orange light across the shattered remains of the room, making everything seem worse than it really was.

I took another step and froze when glass shattered beneath my feet.

I looked down at the thing that I had stepped on. Then I blinked and looked again.

A girl with frizzy light gold hair and violet eyes stared up at me from beneath the remains of a broken silver picture frame, her lips turned up in a small smile.

I stared back at the picture of myself, unable to really understand what it all meant. I was still numb with shock when a cold hand grabbed my shoulder.

**Me: Thanks to all of the people who reviewed!!!! **** Hope you liked the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**


	15. Stay Dead This Time

Chapter 15

Amaranth had instinctively ducked behind the bed when the window had shattered, which was annoying since he really wouldn't have minded if the glass had cut him to pieces. Darn survival instincts…

The shockwave from the explosion hurled him against the wall. Amaranth barely noticed the pain, even though stars flashed before his eyes. His eyes went to the bedside table with Media's picture. It had been smashed by the bed, which had been thrown to the side as a result of the shockwave.

He could hear the sounds of battle downstairs. By the sounds of things, Circle Daybreak wasn't doing very well. Maybe he should go down there and help them; he could easily be killed in battle.

Amaranth had just made the decision to fight when light footsteps were heard outside his door- or, what remained of his door.

He crouched down in the shadow of the overturned bed and waited with baited breath for the intruder.

He could tell immediately that the intruder was a witch. Whoever it was held a ball of witchfire before them as a way of partially lighting the room. Unfortunately, the glow from the fire hid the witch's face from view. Amaranth frowned, slightly annoyed. He would've liked to see the face of the person he was going to kill.

He shifted into a hunting crouch and prepared to spring. The witch walked towards his hiding place, unaware of his presence. They both froze when the intruder stepped on the remains of Media's picture.

The witch looked down at the small photo and studied it for a moment with a surprised air. Amaranth felt a snarl rise in his throat. What did the witch care about a picture? It was his property, not theirs. Amaranth prepared to lunge for the intruder's throat when another intruder came out of the darkness and grabbed the witch.

* * *

I whirled around to face my attacker, the witchfire in my hand glowing fiercely. Its glow faltered when I saw the face of my attacker.

The dragon from South America sneered at me, taking delight in my fear. His opaque eyes glinted with barely concealed hatred beneath his charred dark hair. The red burn marks crisscrossing his face were the only signs that he had been in an explosion recently.

"Hello, little witch," he purred. "Miss me?"  
"Not really, no," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "How did you-?"

"Survive?" The dragon guessed. He smirked. "It takes more than a small potion to destroy a dragon, little girl."

Some insane part of my mind noted that, since I was an inch taller than the dragon, he shouldn't really be calling me little.

I shifted to a fighting position, the glow of the witchfire showing me the mocking expression on the dragon's face.

"I guess I'll have to be more creative when I kill you this time," I growled.

"Oh? And why would you want to kill me, little witch?"

The question was so incredibly stupid that I paused.

"After all," the dragon continued, completely ignoring my confusion. "You are named for Media, the only witch to stand with us in the fall of the First Age. Why not follow your namesake and join us? I assure you, the job has its benefits. And, besides, what do you really have to live for here? Nothing. So why not leave these pathetic fools and come with us? I'm sure the others would love to have a talented young witch like you in our army."

I was seriously considering the possibilities of this dragon receiving brain damage from that explosion in South America when a voice interrupted us.

"Media!" The new voice yelled. "Don't listen to him!"

The dragon and I both turned to face the newcomer, although I already knew who it was.

Amaranth stepped into the pool of light cast by the dimming witchfire, his face pale with fear and anger.

"Don't join them," he pleaded. "They're evil, Media."

"And you're an idiotic Daybreaker," the dragon retorted wearily. "Come, little witch, you know you don't want to be a part of this Circle Daybreak."

I turned to look at the dragon, my eyebrows raised.

"Did you even lose any horns in that explosion?" I asked casually.

The dragon frowned and ran a hand through his hair, pushing some strands away from his forehead.

A single horn stood proudly beside the ruined stump of its fellow. I fought the urge to gag. Okay, dragon horns are definitely not on my list of favorite things to look at.

I looked at the horn as long as I could without throwing up and looked back at the dragon's face. Its eyes glittered excitedly, no doubt expecting me to turn against my friends and loved ones just as my namesake had all those years ago.

"Well, you certainly are a powerful dragon, aren't you?" I mused thoughtfully, the witchfire faltering again in my hand. "You'd be a hard one to kill in a fight."

The dragon smirked, pleased with the direction in which this conversation was going. Amaranth stared at me, horrified.

"It wouldn't be wise to challenge me," the dragon agreed.

"Well," I said slowly. "In that case…."

The witchfire burst to life in my hands and shot straight at the dragon, destroying the exposed horn on his forehead. The dragon started and stared at me, his eyes widening in shock. He fell to the side and landed, spread-eagled, on the ground in front of me.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not challenging," I finished coolly. "Now stay dead this time."

Amaranth sighed in relief and put his arms around me. I smiled and pressed my face into his chest.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," he growled softly. "I thought you were dead."

I snorted.

"It takes more than an explosion and an insane dragon to do me in," I said proudly.

Amaranth laughed.

"Clearly," he chuckled. His arms tightened around me and drew me close. "When did you become such a fierce little warrior?"

"It's kind of weird what being on the run does to a person, isn't it?" I joked. Then I frowned. "Come on," I sighed. "The fight's not over yet."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World *sigh***

**Me: Thanks to all of the people who reviewed!!! And if you snow like did, enjoy it!!**


	16. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Night World.**

**Hey everyone! Sorry I disappeared off the face of the earth for so long… School's been kind of busy… Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and put up with my absence!**

** -Luxio Nyx**

Epilogue

One Month Later

It's strange what time will do to your sense of normalcy. A few years ago, I thought normal was going to school and being ridiculed by my much more attractive classmates. A month ago, my normal life (if you could call it normal) revolved around running from my own grandmother and learning how to fight the things that went bump in the night. Now, normal is the life I spend with Amaranth while the world is preparing for the Apocalypse. As you can see, my life was never normal, and it probably never will be.

After Amaranth and I had made sure that the dragon I had killed was really dead this time (he was, thank goodness, I was getting tired of killing him), we had gone down stairs to help the other Daybreakers fight the remaining invaders. I don't like to dwell too much on that fight, even though it wasn't the worst one I had seen by a long shot, but it was still painful to live through. Thankfully, we didn't lose anybody in that fight, although a few werewolves and shapeshifters came close. I later found out that Hannah and Rashel had led an attack on the rear of the attackers after they had left me, which was effective but also gave their soulmates heart-attacks.

Thierry welcomed me and Cap into the Circle with open arms and an even more open wallet, a fact which never ceases to amaze me. Even though Cap and Amaranth are always in denial whenever I point out that I'm no where near deserving enough of Thierry's kindness, I still don't think saving him from a dragon makes me deserve the use of Thierry's private helicopter whenever the urge seizes me along with an almost unlimited amount of funds for my personal use (not that I have very many personal uses). Needless to say, Amaranth enjoys using the helicopter more than I do as it allows us some much needed alone time to catch up when we're not busy training for battle and searching for more dragons.

Cap and I never did find Sage, although we did find the little b- witch- who had possessed Amaranth and made me send him away in the first place. Turns out she was messing with other witches' non-witch soulmates. Let's just say, she won't be bothering anyone anymore. Don't worry though, Thierry and Hannah wouldn't let me kill her… although they did let me turn her over to Thea and Blaise, which is much more fun.

I'm still not sure what will happen during or after the Apocalypse, and I'm not sure that I'll even survive. Amaranth tried briefly to convince me to turn into a vampire for my own safety, although luckily Thierry and Ash convinced him otherwise. Good thing too, I really don't like blood.

There have been more dragon appearances, which means that Cap and I are being kept busy with tracking them and killing them. Hannah and Keller say that the increase in dragon attacks is a sign that the end of the world is approaching. I'm not sure that I believe them, although they haven't been wrong before.

Well, whenever the Apocalypse decides to come, it sure won't find me hiding under a bench like some other humans I used to know. It will find me at the front lines, with Amaranth by my side, no longer afraid to face the world.


End file.
